


Spatial Disparity

by TheTacticianMagician



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Dimensions, F/M, M/M, Sibling Incest, implied kinda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-01
Updated: 2016-08-01
Packaged: 2018-07-28 14:20:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7644328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTacticianMagician/pseuds/TheTacticianMagician
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This wasn't a matter of being forgotten - she wasn't even born here.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spatial Disparity

**Author's Note:**

  * For [emblems](https://archiveofourown.org/users/emblems/gifts).



> I think this looks sort of rushed for such an encompassing concept as this. Sorry. You say angst, here it is though.
> 
> Alternate title: Morgan and Lucina sure have luck for walking in on their parents.

They'd talked about this. It was going to be fine. She was the oldest, the one who was born first over all of them - and so the most fit to convince any of their parents of their situation if push came to shove.   
  
That didn't stop her from feeling her heart storming with wildly different emotions, as she snuck off, sent Morgan one last lingering gaze before calling upon Naga's blessing with the Falchion in hand.   
  
Going alone? They wouldn't like that. But they would eventually follow suit. She trusted that.   
  
Lucina leapt into the portal without a second thought.   
  
...   
  
  
"She left. While we were sleeping. Damn it." Owain conceded with gritted teeth.    
  
"That's an added sign we should go as well." Gerome put. "Her mask is gone. She must be in the past as we speak."   
  
Morgan shook his head. He could hardly believe his sister had gone without him - she really was too good for him, a heroine in so many ways, but she didn't have to brave it alone. "I guess we have to do it, and find her soon."   
  
"But remember our promise. Even if we end up lost from each other, we have to go on and try to do our mission as best as we can. Are we clear on that?" Kjelle pressed, taking gratuitous glances to the youths around her.   
  
The reply was an unanimous yes. There was truly nothing else they could do - just leave this devastated place behind. Even with the possibility of being unable to return, and perhaps, just maybe, they wouldn't even miss it.   
  
...   
  


No! No, no, no, no!   
  
This wasn't supposed to be happening. Did they all get separated? Where was everyone? This hardly looked anything like the place where they'd summoned a portal.   
  
Morgan fretted. How long had he been passed out? Could it be that... they tried to wake him up and couldn't and as such left him? Couldn't be, could it? They'd just have had Yarne carry him on his back...   
  
He shook his head - this was all wrong, Naga never told them the details for this. Only that they'd be back to a point where things could be reverted. They accepted every single risk, every single painful possibility.

 

So he has to push on, even in the event that he might be alone. He has to stop Grima’s resurrection. Unlike most of the children, he has a mark to add to his legitimacy to make him more believable.

 

Time to search. If all else failed, his hope would lie in going straight to Ylisstol.

 

...

 

Lucina didn’t think she’d be blessed to find her father so soon, but as it was the case, she found herself hold onto the charade of Marth. The first step of changing the past was ensuring aunt Emmeryn was not assassinated, and the Fire Emblem kept safe. This was better off done from the shadows than if she joined the Shepherds and potentially screwed everything up with her panic-inducing predictions. It could be that her parents weren’t even met at this point in time.

 

Lucina was distraught at the fact Plegia had already sent Risen out here though, and this very likely prefaced the castle raid. She had to get there soon.

 

But just meeting Chrom, alive and well... that was worth everything. Even if she would be just watching from afar, waiting - it'd be all worth it.   
  
This era was safe. She was safe. The Risen didn't seem to appear anywhere else. Actual humans were the foes here and now.

  
  
...   
  
  
At first Morgan thought it more strategically tact to stay where he was, on the basis that moving could set him and the group running laps around each other and never bumping. But he soon conceded that his plan was flawed, because he was in a very nondescript forested area which might never be visited by his father's group. He was better off seeking a town, preferably a larger one, but anywhere he could be given a map or directions would already be fine.   
  
After all, where was he? It seemed right to assume that Naga's power sent them towards the general era and location as opposed to in a timely, ordered manner. So he could be anywhere, even out of Ylisse.   
  
He looked at the sky. No pegasi, no wyverns. There were mountains though, mountains with snow. Maybe this wasn't Ylisse.   
  
There's the memory of being told that tragedy begun to strike only after a war with Valm, so any royal worth their salt would at least be able to give him this info.   
  
No time to lose, then. This world was big and he only had two legs for it.   
  
  
...   
  
  
It was by looking at them from afar in the courtyard that she first got the signs of weirdness.   
  
The one in robes, talking to her father - could that be her mother? The hair looked definitely shorter. Judging from the robes it should be her, right?   
  
She hadn’t seen anyone else but her father when she arived in Regna Ferox to earn Basilio’s favour and thus ensure that his country would act against Plegia when the time came. She wasn’t concerned about seeing her mom so sure, just stay out of the way and hope things would stay on their tracks.   
  
The warrior shook her head into the present; It should be almost time, time to act. She had to steel herself, be careful, and defend her father and aunt under the guise of Marth. This was not time to cater to any emotional bonds.   
  
Lucina approached them with a determined air and, as expected, Chrom treated her respectfully, still grateful that she saved Lissa. In turn, she couldn't help giving looks towards the other person by him through the mask.   
  
As dark as it was, she could still be taken aback by the look in that white-haired man's eyes - it wasn't the same by a shot, but still so similar to her mother's. How could he look so much like her? If only the clothes weren't the same... Maybe she just wasn't looking right.   
  
Though as soon as she heard the person speak - it really wasn't her mother. Not with a voice as deep and different as that.   
  
"Watch out!" He shouted, shaking her out of her reverie - just in time to turn around and barely dodge an assassin's blow, that struck her mask instead. Chrom ran around her, slashing at the foe before he could recover his footing.   
  
How could she let herself get distracted like that? It didn't matter whether her mother was here or not right now! She still had this era to save.   
  
"..."   
  
Chrom turned around slowly, shaking the blood off his sword. "You're a woman?"   
  
Lucina smiled off her nervousness - this was fine, he still couldn't have an inkling she was a time-traveler, or his daughter for that matter. Just a small part of her mysterious semblant had been stripped. "I'm surprised you didn't notice sooner. Thank you, though. I was careless."   
  
Before she could rise and dust herself off, the blaring of a non-distant horn caught their attention. It chilled her blood for a moment before firing it up again - the same sound that echoed the night when Lissa was assassinated. Emmeryn was in danger, right now.   
  
"Let's hurry!" She barked, and it was met with full agreement even as his father could not ask her how she knew what the blaring horn meant.   
  
  
...   
  
  
Morgan perked up immediately at the hints flying about the establishment that would likely set his course.   
  
Bars were amazing for one good reason - he didn't have to pay to get information if he had good ears. Drinks were also good to give him a buzz that helped him keep going, but not as good as hearing that the group of the king of Ylisse was seen heading northeast, to somewhere northwest of where he was.   
  
He sipped his drink carefully, already concocting a plan to go there. This meant he didn't need to go to Ylisstol, if he could find his family, and hopefully his comrades, right around the corner.   
  
This was a decisive move! He couldn't screw this up. The young tactician finished up his drink so he could leave as soon as able. Yes, they'd make everything right! Together, they'd set their future on the road of salvation.

  
  
...   
  
  
During the campaign on Plegia, Lucina watched from afar at times. Her father was followed by a hooded, cloaked person, but this time she was certain that was her mother. They had to have met by now. They'd proposed at the end of this war, after all. That man with a striking resemblance she’d seen with Chrom on the evening of the assassination attempt must have just been an odd coincidence.   
  
She was just glad Basilio was so attuned to Flavia and Chrom was Flavia’s favoured and he asked them for help, which made her loss in Ferox no worse for wear. With another nation on their side, Emmeryn would be alright.   
  
Lucina trusted that. Her mother's tactics were infallible.   
  
There was just somewhere else she needed to see...   
  
It already gave her shivers from afar. That tower could only be Grima's Table. The place where her father was said to be killed. That wouldn't be happening this time, especially not yet, since she had yet to be born.   
  
She approached it, hoping her cloak would advise against hostility and perhaps place her as a practitioner of the Grimleal. She could retch at that very thought - but maybe the reason there were still believers was because they didn't know what Grima gladly did in her future.   
  
An elderly woman sat on the steps leading up to it, and she didn't seem to be in meditation or prayer, so Lucina risked a conversation. "Good day, ma'am. Is this the place of offering, Grima's Table?"   
  
"Oh? Oh yes, yes. Am I happy to see someone so young putting her faith in pilgrimage." The lady cooed.   
  
Little did she know that in her mind, Lucina was going over ways to possibly destroy the huge monument. Her father wouldn't have to die, Grima wouldn't have to rise up - wasn't it that someone like Grima's inheritor was around to resurrect him at the time of her father's death? Once Gangrel was killed, maybe someone else would turn up...   
  
She felt unsafe here. Watched.   
  
Before she could ask the woman further about the religion, a tall guard caught sight of her. Their eyes weren't supposed to meet, though she wasn't sure if that's what brought him to snap.   
  
"No Ylisseans are allowed here! Followers of Naga begone!" He slammed his spear down onto rock.   
  
"I'm not-" She bit her tongue. Perhaps it was the locks of her hair that were still visible. No Plegians she'd seen ever had blue, only shades of dark, white and red. It was not an outlandish assumption.   
  
Carrying a sword, hidden as it may be, she couldn't insist on arguing with the man about it being a mistake and her being unaware. So she fled. 

  
  
  


...

  
  


Possible hours of walking were all worth it the moment he sighted a large group marching in the distance. With renewed hope and vigor that overtook the fatigue in his legs, he pushed forward in a near-sprint for them.   
  
It was no doubt that they’d seen him running towards them way before he approached, as they seemed to collectively slow down. The shorter figures he saw just had to be his friends, and they’d certainly recognize him!   
  
He already had his arms open for the familiar faces ahead, and surely enough an excited Cynthia came trotting forth in her pegasus. “Justice Cabal junior is here! Morgan is here everyone!”   
  


The adults seemed taken aback, probably due to his clothes being exactly like his mother’s, entirely indistinguishable. Owain, Yarne, Severa and Inigo were quick to salute him as well, commending him on finally finding the Shepherds.

 

And of course, there was his mom and dad, and he offered them his biggest grin yet. “Hi! Here’s your son!”

 

“Look into his eye, look into his eye!” Owain urged with excitement.

 

Being able to be so close to his mother again, after what felt like an eternity worth of years, was incredible.

 

She and Chrom leaned in to fulfill their nephew’s suggestion, and Morgan let his right eye open and clear.

 

“So... that really is the mark, like with Lucina.” Robin conceded. “And those are my robes, too.” She smiled, and the boy beamed to have his hair pet.

 

“Am I glad to finally see one of ours here. The kids weren’t teasing.” Chrom rubbed the back of his neck. Morgan looked definitely shorter and more cutey than he’d envisioned, especially after Owain.   
  
"Sorry for taking long! I was separated from the group, you see."   
  
"Be not concerned, Morgan. We were all scattered." Laurent input. "It appears we were ultimately off the mark in both time and space. I have been in the past for at least a couple full years, whereas Nah states to have been here some three weeks at most."   
  
The others had probably already heard it from the magician, but this was new, yet sensical to Morgan. "Oh. I don't think I've been more than a month." He deduced, scratching a cheek with his index; though he was the most apt to lose track of time, so...   
  
"That wasn't so bad. We all got our collective share of information, and I'll admit if I was my own mom I would have been startled with a bunch of kids asking to join up at the same time." Severa added, earning a few nods from parents around her.   
  
The parental-child similarities were even more striking with their moms and dads so young and dashing. Probably almost their ages. They could look like siblings with just a little convincing.

  
Everybody seemed to be here already! He could count heads, see all the parents, too. Two Minervas, that looked weird... There was just one he wasn’t finding, one he had hoped above all to chance upon...   
  
He looked all around, from the front until the back of the group, and no sign of her. This entire meet and regroup was fantastic, really was, but a bothered expression couldn’t be stopped from crossing his face.   
  
"Morgan? What's wrong?" His mother inquired, already showing her attentive side.   
  
"Lucina... Lucina isn't here?"   
  


She couldn't be dead. There was no way. This timeline was so much tamer, nothing here could possibly bring her down.   
  


But he still feared it. Still shook with a tremble at the thought.   
  
“We haven’t found her yet. Like with you, we didn't find the others right away. You were all scattered across space and time, as Laurent pointed out." Robin explained with clarity.   
  
"I thought that she'd be the first one to find you. She had a plan set up. She was our leader." Morgan recognized this moment easily as when his logical resolve started slipping away into emotional. A stance he'd tried many times to steel himself from while training strategical behaviour with his mother.   
  
“Remember, she did bolt off hours before we did. It’s likely she may have been off with the timing, or gone to someplace else entirely like the Outrealms." Inigo hopped in. He yelped in pain when Severa pinched him with a reprimanding look.   
  
"Outrealms...?" In his books, Morgan had seen a few mentions of possible places like that.   
  
"Yeah, like we have different times and could travel in it, there's different places too. Like out of this world. Tiki said that deities like Naga can make that happen. But I really don't think she'd let Lucina just miss the world completely." Owain tried to reason, bumping up on Inigo's other side. The three looked kinda silly like that, and Morgan couldn't help smiling.   
  
"You're right. I might be worrying off my boots here." Nonetheless, he silently saved that possibility in his mind. That she could be in another world entirely and had to find her way back...   
  
  
...   
  
  
Lucina made herself quietly comfortable behind the rocks, well-crouched to the point of almost laying down. There was some weirdness to be felt in knowing she just watched all their parents from afar and did nothing about it. But it was necessary - if her mother wasn't even pregnant yet, the idea of a daughter turning up was inscrumptuous. Whatever that word Morgan said sometimes was.   
  
Not to mention she didn't want to come off as a liar if she just stayed with them all this time and never said anything, only to have to explain later.   
  
As much as it was better this way, she couldn't shake off an inappropriate feeling from always watching them.   
  
She wasn't going to stalk the Shepherds every breathing moment, but they were her home in a different way than Ylisse was, her lifeline in this time. Since the war was now won, things would settle down, as predicted, so she could afford to back away for a while.   
  
Not without seeing her father one last time though.   
  
The castle still being in a feisty mood, it was no wonder Chrom had come outside of the grounds to spend some alone time. Lucina wondered for a moment why he hadn't brought Robin with him, but then again it wasn't exactly alone time if you were with someone else. Maybe her mother was enjoying herself within the walls, as it was her thing on some level.   
  
What made the princess glad to see him alone was how he was, how he looked, as he swung Falchion every which way with no concern.   
  
He looked dreamy, positively lovestruck. She smiled at that. There was no doubt that he'd just married her mother. Since she heard no news or seen the ceremony, she must have certainly missed it. They did make a show of Lissa's marriage though. She heard of how Lissa's husband was fitting with how great he was at serving the family... which she found a bit odd, since Lon'qu had been barely in Ylisse since he joined up.

  
Or maybe the marriage was just coming up? She wouldn't be sticking around to know for sure, or else she'd be nitpicking for every excuse to stay near the Shepherds forever. No, she had to detach; if there was ever the plan of returning to her time, growing a bond was definitely not a good idea.   
  
Besides, news of when the baby - she - is born are likely to reach her wherever she may be.   
  
The azurette would simply cherish these sights of her father, very much alive, for now.   
  
  
...   
  
  
Robin tried to ignore it for a bit. She should be used to this! She was married! But no, logic didn't work with the desires her body incited on her.   
  
She found herself not even fighting it as her eyes came to fully face Chrom as opposed to just glancing at him from the corner of her eye. He looked exerted, but not tired, a sheen of sweat carrying down his neck and arms from the training. The buttons of his top piece were opened as he stretched, the sound of bones clacking resounding as he likely undid some knots in his musculature.   
  
The tactician wasn't even hiding the fact she was unabashedly staring now.   
  
Chrom took a bit to notice that; as hyper-alert as he could be in the battlefield, he fell flat in social situations. (Sadly Morgan had to inherit that from him). Once he did, his face heated up; he really wasn't so good at flirting unless he put his weigh into it, which required planning beforehand.   
  
"Well?" He voiced.   
  
"You're looking really good." Robin stated, eyes slightly glazed over already.   
  
"Um, thanks..." Chrom looked aside as the hairs on the nape of his neck rose up in excitement. He was still easily riled up by his wife; it really hasn't been that long since their wedding.   
  
But he still feels some unease as he senses her approaching him. "Are you sure you want to start? It's still broad daytime, and someone could come wanting to speak with either of us. And you still have your duties for the day..."   
  
Robin could see that he was trying to garner excuses just like he used to do when their relationship was still secret, when he was all too afraid of what people would think. She knows because she did that, too. Just bouncing off each other's excuses and concerns until the tension exploded into something quick and raw and passionate.   
  
"Be sincere with yourself, Chrom, without worrying about the Shepherds or Ylisse's populace for once. What do you want?" She inquired whilst placing a hand on his bare chest.   
  
He looked meaningfully into her eyes, a bead of sweat running down the side of his face. "You. But-"   
  
His words were stopped by a finger upon his lips. "There's your simple answer." The woman smiled, and pressed closer to him. "Morgan is just further proof that we... should be able to do this." Robin conceded. "There's no point in hiding or holding back. We're married. We have Lucina." She artfully let her hand slide down his sticky torso.   
  
Chrom didn't really have much to say to that. Before, when she wanted him and he wanted her and they were ready to unceremoniously go at each other, their words would always be about how they were not yet married and their how their reputations could crumble if they were found out, which was very serious for a lead tactician and an Exalt-to-be. But now that they even had a child, was there anything he could imagine to be in the way? (The other Shepherds certainly did not believe in limitations, he found out even before their children showed up to join them.)

 

“This is not about what I want.” Robin breathed into his lips, “It’s about what  _ we _ want.”

 

The kiss came naturally, arms coming around each other’s frames as lips sought contact. Tongues rubbed over dry lips, noses bumped. This was right and nice and a strong reminder to why they wouldn't be wanting more of the game of hiding they forced upon themselves in their first year of traveling.

 

The woman was taken by surprise when Chrom tugged at her hair, pulling her head back and immediately latching his mouth to the side of her neck. She let out an appreciative groan. Her intuition was very much right after all. With her hands holding onto him for support, there was nothing much she could do for the moment other than accept him, the nibbles and kisses and an intent hard suckling that had her legs almost buckling.   
  
"Is this fine?" He asked against her skin before drawing back to look at her. The pink dusting his cheeks was cute and a good reminder that she was dealing with a dork.   
  
"Of course it is. Better than fine," Robin jutted out her chest a bit, more pronounced as she'd foregone her robe. Tacticians were fond of laying out baits, to say the least. His hand still stood unsure among her locks for a brief moment before it moved, palming the countours of her breasts with the gentle exploration that belied their first-

 

“Aaahhn-!” She tried to bite back a moan as her husband massaged her mounds intently through the loose shirt, alternating with light squeezes. Chrom’s hands were shaky, yet excited, and Robin could easily count that as a win under her belt.   
  
It was like a game that remained from their times of uncertainty and love-brewing - just how much could they unwittingly turn the other on, how much could the tactician’s words beckon him into losing his bearings, who would be the first to give in. A mischief-styled way that suited their needs better than what the Halidom would have expected out of their Exalt and his right-hand tactician.   
  
When he found her nipples through familiarity alone, she shivered, making it harder for him as she pressed forward and leaned down to stick her mouth to one of his own nipples. Chrom had to whine when her insistence awakened sensitivity in the nub, adding to the sparks of arousal clouding his mind.   
  
His hands hovered down to cup her buttocks and got her making a suppressed noise of surprise and walking back, and he had to briefly wonder if it was her plan to make them fall back onto the bed.   
  
"Better now, right?" She breathed absentmindedly, and enforced the point by wiggling her hips against the man on top of her. Chrom's eyes slipped shut with the onset of pleasure from her rubbing right against his crotch.

 

His reply was to take her up onto a kiss, tongue wasting no time in dipping into her mouth; Robin gladly sucked on it, making Chrom jolt and thrust onto her in a way that just fired her up further.

 

"Was that sudden?" The panting Exalt asked in a way not unlike someone who brought a floater to a shallow pool.

 

"Do that again." She answered simply.    
  
He rocked against her once more, making them both hum pleasurably. Chrom started a rhythm, rubbing their clothed heats together in an easy, mounting thrill of sensations. Robin wrapped her legs around his midsection to enclose them further, swallowing her husband's moan with another full-mouth kiss.   
  
This was nice, very nice, but she had to admit her layers of cloth were being more trouble than they were worth. But parting to allow clothes off would mean Chrom would have to stop his powerful movements, and the tingles running hotly from and through her core abhorred that idea.   
  
They didn't even notice something changed until a voice appeared from somewhere else.

  
"Mom, dad, Frederick's looking forrr----yyyyaaaaaaa."   
  
The couple's movements halted unevenly as they shot looks back at the tent door. Which had been closed. There was their son, not moving an inch.   
  
  
Morgan stood there momentarily, smiling mouth agape. “Um, err... Bad time? I’m sorry, I’ll be going now.” He backed away slowly, almost tripping on the way out. “Maybe you’re supposed to make me out of this! Heh, heh heh!” He laughed nervously before widely stepping off the flaps.

 

Chrom had nothing to say to that as his son left. All he could do was focus on not laying his full weight on his wife. Who was making some odd noises... His eyebrows crooked. Oh no. Was she upset? 

 

“Robin?” He tentatively rested a palm on her face. She seemed ready to start sobbing-

 

He had to startle though when Robin burst out laughing. Her hand came up to try and cover her mouth as giggles racked her. It was a relief but... why would...

 

Chrom waited until she calmed a bit, so she could try to explain to him.

 

"Did you hear what he said? He wants us to make him!" She chuckled.   
  


This made him unable to keep back a smile. “You got me for a moment there.”

 

“I’m not really worried. We’re fully clothed still. And you may not know, but Morgan has walked into a number of situations in the relatively short time he’s been here.”

 

That didn’t make things any better! Other than the clothing part. She was still flushed and gave off vibes of embarrassment, but she was way calmer about it than he thought she would.

 

Robin nuzzled his face. “Can you do me a favour and take those pants off while I seal the tent?”

 

“A-absolutely.” Chrom accepted, heat rising up in him again.   
  
  


...   
  
  
As soon as word came out of Walhart's armies stomping over Valm came to her ears, Lucina was on edge. She immediately sought the Shepherds, who were in Plegian soil right now to attend to an allied council - which set her concern even more aflare. Since she'd heard of the new Plegian king being a religious leader, she felt nauseous about things potentially going down the very same path they'd gone before. After Emmeryn's death, it was not a wild thought either...   
  
When she finally found them, it was at a crucial time - they'd already been ambushed by several Risen, and were struggling to fight them off.   
  
Heading a flank line was Chrom, and in the opposite canyon side was - how? That short hair, that look like her mother's - it couldn't be that same man that she'd seen with him all that time ago, could it...   
  
An onslaught of spells and very precise shots from Virion and defense from the cavaliers and Kellam enabled them to pull it off before she could approach fully. It was all done by the time she was all but next to them; that robed man and her father had met above the connecting bridge and slain the chief.   
  
They were talking, but she noticed odd movement out of the corner of her eyes. Something - fast and dangerous and dark-   
  
That Risen... Chrom wasn’t paying attention - no! 

 

“Father, look out!” She leapt ahead determinedly and just like that time with Lissa, parried the hit meant to hit her family.

 

Chrom watched with mild surprise as she finished it off in a billow of purple smoke. The same poise as she'd used to kill Emmeryn's assassin-to-be a year back.   
  
Lucina, on the other hand, had cold sweat running down her neck. She had just screamed that. She had just showed herself, making it obvious that she'd been either watching or following them. This was... this was the time.   
  
"I must thank you again... Marth." Chrom bowed his head, seemingly unaware that she was frozen in her finishing battle stance. Had he simply not noticed? Was he too riled up from the previous skirmish to notice anything at all?

 

Maybe he didn't, but someone else did. “She called you ‘father’.” The man who reflected her mother spoke. Just as sharp.

 

This was like a point of no return. There was no avoiding the group now, the army of all their parents.   
  
That statement seemed to pull Chrom into actual thought, out of his battle rush. "Huh? 'Father'?" He was understandably confused.   
  
"Look, we... we need to talk. Somewhere. This is very serious." She mustered, acknowledging she must make up for that screw-up.   
  
The men in front of her shared a brief glance, and the white-haired nodded. Her father loosened his stance. "Alright. I'll hear you out." He walked ahead, enabling Lucina to lead him a few ways from there.

  
About a minute of silence followed them prior to the princess taking deep breaths to herald the following conversation. "I think you might have guessed it by now, but my name is not Marth. It's..." A turn, an intent look at him. "It's Lucina."   
  
Nothing changed in his expression. He nodded firmly, but that was it, waiting for her to continue. That name should have at least rung some bells, but she supposed she's not the only Lucina around. But the next words she had were unquestionable.    
  


“...I’m your daughter. I came from the future, a future destroyed by monsters, to set things right here.”

 

He seemed to dwell on it for a deep moment, looking intently at her. “You look like you could be... but I don’t think so.”

 

“Didn’t you call your daughter, Lucina?” She pressed on. This moment was not easy to push through, and she’d been expecting it.

 

“I... I don’t have children.”

 

What!?

 

That struck her like a weight. He ought to be joking, or maybe was confused with the way she was saying things. She inherited said ineptitude from him after all.

 

“But mother- your wife... she’s pregnant, at least?”

 

“I don’t have a wife. Neither had one in the past. I’m sorry, I really have no idea what you’re talking about.” Chrom apologized.

 

This... it was all wrong. Could she still be too early? But no, the wars, all the Shepherds coming together... How was he not married? They weren’t that old when they had kids!   
  
"Please look into my eye." She pleaded - this mark, along with Falchion, were to be her truth lines if words didn't work. He ceded to the request, looking into her left eye and sighting the light lines forming a familiar brand, the same one he sees on his shoulder whenever he passes a mirror.

  
"That's... interesting..."   
  


“Is something the matter here?” Lucina whipped her head around to see, again, that white-haired man with familiar robes.

 

“Not something too concerning, Robin. But Lucina here says she’s my daughter, from a ruined future. And I don’t have kids, you know that.” The azurett spoke.

 

She froze. This was the first time she heard his name.   
  


How. How!?

  
Robin immediately became worried. "What... what's wrong?"   
  
"You... you're Robin?" Hesitation laced her words. "But... my mother..." She shook her head. "You look just like her. But you... aren't her?"   
  
"As I said, Lucina." Chrom walked closer, "I'm not married. I don't have a wife. Are you absolutely positive you aren't Lissa's daughter?" That could be the only explanation for her inheriting the brand of the Exalt.   
  
"Lissa is my aunt." Lucina insisted. "I'm sure you are my father. And my mother... Robin's my mother. She's not a man. She's not this Robin... but she has the same clothes, the same hair color, the same role of tactician."   
  
"I don't think she's lying, Chrom. At the very least not on purpose." Robin studied her expressions; she seemed genuinely baffled. "I don't have any memories, so I wouldn't put it past us to have had a sister... And given you've come from the future, I wouldn't say anything is impossible."   
  
The princess' eyes screwed shut. "We... argh. I have to try and find the others. The other children, maybe they can help me figure this out."   
  
Chrom looked surprised. "You're not the only one? I mean, I know there are marriages forming in the Shepherds..." He gave a mute request to take a look at her sword, and Lucina lent the Falchion to him. Though it was wrapped up in cloths to hide its royal air, the man seemed to be able to recognize it, eyes widening slowly.   
  
"Almost everyone had kids." She continued. "There's more than ten of us. I went ahead, and have yet to find any in the past year, but I'm hoping we can find them around."

  
"That would indeed help your situation, having more people backing up your claims." The tactician clapped his hands together. "But I won't mind treating you as Chrom's daughter, and we'll be glad to have you travel with us. As I said, I really don't think you're just trying to pull something out on us, given you seem to have a true Falchion and the Brand."   
  
The men then shared a questioning look. She was just as disbelieving to be honest, though now that she was with the Shepherds, she could watch them closely for differences.   
  
They didn't break it to the rest of them who she was supposed to be when they returned, besides being the one who helped them about a year back when Plegians stormed the Ylisstol castle. All she knew from vague memories of them proved true as they were very welcoming. Anybody who would jump in to save Chrom like that was ok in their book. With the base of Falchion wrapped up, they wouldn't ask about it either.   
  
And indeed, they hadn't found any of the children yet. Owain had a mark as well, so he'd be a godsend to find as soon as possible.   
  
  


That night, Robin approached her. It really felt odd, like this was straight out of a “hey what if this person was the opposite sex” scenario. But she had to treat him fully seriously, just as he did her; he was still as much a trusted tactician to her father here as her mother had been then.

 

“I’d like to begin by thanking you for saving Chrom back there. I really mean it.” He started, lining the words with a smile. The lit candlelight reflected in his eyes.

 

“That’s alright. It’s what I came to the past for. To keep him, and everyone, safe.” She stated simply. She felt more at ease with him than she would a stranger, as if she'd known him. Must just be the similarities.

 

“I believe you. More than you think I might." The man stated while looking her in the eye to drive the point. "But I came to ask you about your mother. Chrom’s wife, in this future you came from. You said her name was Robin?”

 

“Yes. You and her look almost the same. Like twins. She had long white hair, tailed on the sides of her head, and those same clothes. Brown eyes like yours.” Lucina made light gestures towards his being.

 

Robin sat up in a more comfortable position. “Hm. I see you’re focusing on similarities here, and I can see they’re staggering. Though I want to know about any differences, if you remember them.”

 

Her first thought was no, no differences. But she tried to remember the times she watched him from afar in this era, to compare with her mother. “Well, let’s see... she’s a woman, first of all. She had two children with father, me and a boy named Morgan.” Her heart ached to remember him now, but she pushed that sentiment away. “He has the mark in his right eye. Got the sword from her... if I’m seeing right, you prefer tomes over swords, right?” He assented. “So that’s a difference. And when she did use tomes, it was mostly fire. Here I’ve seen you with thunder tomes the most.”

 

“Nice observation.”

 

“You also seem a little more reserved with the army, and then there’s the fact you’re not married to my father.”

 

She thought she saw his smile crook then, but it was too fast for her to be sure.   
  
"So that's what happened in your time. The tactician of the Shepherds there was just like me, and married your Chrom. And that's how you have the mark. I won't ask any more of your future yet- you mentioned it being a ruined future, right? That must be painful. You wouldn't be leaving your time for no good reason."   
  
Lucina assented, then looked curiously as Robin pulled off his long glove.   
  
"One more thing now. Do you remember if that Robin - your mother - had this?" He turned the back of his hand towards her, showing a dark mark of six eyes and an intertwining line. It made her feel uneasy to look at it, but she couldn't place a reason.   
  
"I... don't actually remember." The princess replied. "Sorry."   
  
"That's alright." Robin commended, lowering his arm. "At that time you wouldn't have known that you needed to pay more attention in case a near-identical person to your mother showed up."   
  
The princess gave a little laugh. "Yes, I'd say so. What really baffles me is... no one else seems to have really changed. Physically, I mean. Just you."   
  


Silence hovered between them after that, and Lucina had to wonder if the future of this world was even ruined. If there would have any need, or attempt, of the Shepherds' kids to go back. And then she'd be alone and without explanation. Darn...   
  


“Lucina?” The man called.

 

“Hm?” She flickered her eyes up at him.

 

“It’s..." He exhaled. "It’s nothing. I have to go now.”

  
He picked up his glove and was ready to leave as he stood up. "Thanks for having me."   
  
She watched him leave with thoughts still roaming her mind. Maybe she should pay more attention to the Shepherds now that she was with them. Check for any differences.   
  
She spent the next days observing.   
  
It may have been that she was seeing things, checking for bumps when there could be none. But indeed, the couple dynamics seemed to point differently. Lissa was being extra affectionate with Frederick, when in her past she was happily married to Lon'qu. She saw Vaike try to run his hand up Maribelle's dress and was met with no true resistance, whereas the Maribelle Lucina knew to be engaged to Donnel would never allow that.   
  
What could this mean? Would... maybe they'd have different children now. That made sense. So her hope of finding anyone could be dashed even then. It was distressing. Maybe one or a couple of them could change decisions, rearrange marriages, but- the entire army?   
  
She just had to find someone. No luck in Ylisse so far, so maybe in Valm... She couldn’t give up, even if she could do this with the help of the Shepherds alone.   
  
  
...   
  
  
Whenever the subject of his sister came up in his mind, Morgan would just gather back his lighter thoughts to ease himself; Lucina was not the best at directions, or at talking to people, and she could be sorta gullible, and she said both that she’d help from afar and hide behind another identity. They could be searching for the wrong person at this rate.

 

These thoughts would settle him back and allow him to sleep. It would not be a matter of if, but rather when, he told himself. With Gaius, Tharja and Frederick absorbing rumors and information like sponges, it was evident how they managed to find all his friends.

 

Next morning, he could ask Say’ri. She’d know if any out of place foreigner was making roundabouts in Chon’sin for the past months.   
  
Perhaps he was worrying too much, but it was likely a given that he’d be biased towards the one he loved...

  
  
...   
  
  
This was the first opportunity to have her hopes so high.   
  
Facing a dangerous bandit threat, they'd come to a hideout in an abandoned fortified location, and outside, she saw a man in a loose stance spinning his sword. He had a shield on his shoulder, was alone, and had a pique to his step.   
  
Her memory couldn't be failing her. It had to be Inigo.   
  


“Hey!” She shouted, legs sprinting right up towards the man, sword thankfully sheathed to not give him an edge.

 

The man stood still for her, and Lucina’s heart leapt as she got a closer look; it really was Inigo. Those clothes, the lining of his face, the earring-

 

“Who do I owe this pleasure to, my lady?”

 

-... that attitude.

 

“It’s me,” She risked, coming to a hopeful stop in front of him. “Lucina.”

 

"Hmm? Lucina, you say... I don't remember you, but you hit a familiar chord in my heart." He reported, and smiled at her. The sway of his hair caught her attention as much as his words...

  
That was undeniable. This Inigo has grey hair, almost white, different from Virion's pale blue that she knew. And he had no idea who she was. This wasn't a matter of being forgotten - she wasn't even born here.   
  
She went to the past of a different dimension.   
  
That's all there is to it.   
  
Damn! She insisted on going first, hurried for it, separate from the others, to end in this!   
  
But if... if Inigo was here... that meant the future of this dimension was also doomed. That they also had to go back.   
  
What about her dimension?! Did everyone arrive safely in their respective past?   
  
"Hey, dear... You look pretty distraught. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you." She flinched into reality by a gentle hand brushing away her hair. "You seem to know me, though, may I ask how?"   
  
Lucina swallowed. "I know you, Inigo, but... a different version of you."   
  
"Huh?" He leaned back, predictable as she just spoke his name when he hadn’t mentioned it.

  
"I think I came from another past, from another world. Your father was Virion... You had blue hair instead."   
  
She watched him absorb the information, evaluating it.   
  
"Here." She offered, leaning in slightly and gazing him down intently.   
  
"What do you- ooohh." He caught sight of the peculiarity in her left eye. "That's... that's like Owain's." His hand rose to his chin. "You... are Chrom's daughter, right? I guess I believe you, since Chrom didn't leave any child behind. You're just about my age, too."   
  
"Yes. Thank you for believing me." Lucina bowed slightly, and thankfully despite this being one-sided, they seemed to click as though they were meant to know one another. "You're the first of us we've found. But maybe we should leave the introductions for after the battle."   
  
"Aaalright. I'm glad I don't have to do it alone, I was nervous about that possibility... let's go, Luci." Inigo winked at her, and it felt so, so welcoming.   
  
...   
  
Inigo would be the first encounter of the Shepherds with the future children, since Lucina never introduced herself as one. He was able to prove his heritage with his earring and his hair color. He also showed a very weak dark magic spell to enforce that he was Henry's son.   
  
But he didn't keep his mouth shut about Lucina either. He said there was a possibility she was from the future as well and that they'd all just collectively forgotten about her. Maybe he didn't want to mention another world, because that was another bag of beans entirely and she figured it wasn't smooth to mention that Olivia was married to another man there.    
  
Why did he have to do that though? Now Lissa could be hopeful that she had two kids!   
  
"Huh! If Lucina was anyone's kid here, I'd really say she's Chrom's." Vaike hazarded a guess.   
  
"Our leader is not married. Don't bring up scandalous suppositions. The fact that this boy came from the future is enough of a handful for us to swallow." Maribelle used her umbrella to tug at one of Vaike's leather straps.   
  
Oh well. She  _ was _ Chrom's daughter. But with the rate things were going, she'd just end up thinking her past was a lie... But she existed. That should be enough proof.   
  
Owain would probably settle this for good for her.   
  
..   
  
The man appeared not very long after Inigo did, searching for a Mystletainn or something or another. He must have had his reasons.   
  
Being forgotten by your own cousin felt painful, and really drove the point to her that this was not her world, at all.   
  
She had to ask. "Who's your father? Is it... Frederick?"   
  
"Yeah. Frederick is my dad." Owain said wistfully. "So who was my pa there in-"   
  
"Hey, aren't you even gonna give me a hug or a greeting kiss? That's cruel, Owain!" Inigo suddenly jumped and wrapped an arm around his shoulder.   
  
Lucina had to smile; the dancer could be a blockhead sometimes, but he was a good blockhead.   
  
...   
  
  
When Robin stood outside, watching the Shepherds train, Lucina swore she'd seen the long flowing locks of her mother for a moment before she snapped back to it and found the same man there.   
  
Feeling the impulse in her legs, she walked up to him, and spoke more quickly than she'd meant. "Robin, are you sure you're not a woman?"   
  
He was taken aback by the sudden question, though he could see where it'd have come from. "I am. I am absolutely sure I'm a man." He seemed to give it a bit more thought, before blushing. "I mean, I suppose I wouldn't have to prove that to you in any way-"   
  
"No, no," She deflected, blushing as well. "Sorry, I didn't really mean anything of it."   
  
"You just want to hold onto hope about your world, I understand. But you were able to tell me some differences between me and your mother yourself, so you may have already realized it really is a matter of a different world entirely." He ceded, recomposing his stance.   
  
"I guess so. There really is no other way to see this. And we've found every Junior Shepherd except for Morgan, which must mean he wasn't born in this world either." She sighed.    
  
"Oh. You did mention Morgan being your brother, right? How come he isn't here with you?"    
  
"I moved into the portal a night before everyone else. What I'm saying is, I was alone when I went through. So the others are probably in the correct world by now." Lucina reminisced. "Morgan strived to be a tactician, and I left without telling him. Maybe we'd be together here if I had said anything... Or gone to the correct world if I wasn't so impulsive." She jolted. "Ah, I don't mean that being here and meeting you was bad in any way, I just-"   
  
"That's alright, Lucina." Robin tried to ease her. "I see that it hurts you and you have regrets, but now isn't the time for it. You can count on us. We'll find a way for you."   
  
"Thank you, mo- Robin." She shook her head and made an annoyed noise at herself.   
  
He chuckled. "Well, we're all learning."   
  
  
...   
  
  
"Morgan."   
  
"Yeah?"   
  
"I have a question for you."   
  
Morgan jolted up from his slouched stance. Owain was uncharacteristically serious, which was actually rather frightening, especially when he was usually the one to come crashing in with Justice Cabal stuff.   
  
"If events like what happened in our past... y'know... come to happen again... do you think you can wield the Falchion?" The myrmidon held his chin with the back of his intertwined hands.   
  
That was sudden. To be honest, as much as Lucina had brought up the subject a few different times, he never wanted to hear any of it. Him wielding the Falchion immediately implied the death of either his father or his sister, and unsurprisingly he rejected the very thought of it.   
  
But as a tactician he had to face that reality. They hadn't found Lucina yet, but Chrom was here, and he could perform the rite of Awakening on the sword. But if something happened to Chrom like in their future...   
  
Morgan sighed. "I... I don't know." He lied. "If push comes to shove I'll definitely try it, but can we not talk about this? It's really too early."   
  
"I didn't mean to imply that it'll definitely happen, I mean, I want to see Lucina here and uncle get through this as much as you." Owain reiterated, a bit more to his normal side. "We just have to be ready. When we went back, we promised, we'd be ready no matter how things went down."   
  
"I hear you, I hear you." The boy flashed a grin. "So if we're still in doubt over Falchion, we should just redouble our efforts to protect Chrom!"   
  
"Just ask him to borrow the Falchion for a- Hey! Morgan! Don't ignore me! Come back here!"   
  
  
...   
  
  
Lucina no longer had any expectations, but the kids still made an effort to ask each other if they remembered her any time they found one another. It was kinda sweet.   
  
They all had different hair colors, slightly to not so much. Cynthia went from pearly white to a drastic orange. Yarne at least looked - and acted - basically the same.   
  
"Just a heads up, though, it might be better if you don't bring the different marriages thing up around them much. I... I don't know about you but I'm kinda scared of winking out of existence, eep."   
  
"That's okay, Yarne. I don't want to change things up here." She tried to smile reassuringly.   
  
In foresight, it was great that she kept reserved about it. She would've felt awful if anything happened to these loving marriages just because she mentioned it being different somewhere else.   
  
It made her wonder. Chrom said he wasn't married. And if she were counting on monogamous affairs only (Inigo taught her that difficult word), that meant all the women in the Shepherds were taken.   
  
There really was no way she would even be born here, right?   
  
  
Only later would she see how blind she was being.   
  
N-not that she had any intentions towards it! Her role in that sect of the night was clear - to guard the camp - and she wasn't about to ignore the signs of a presence in the strategy tent - who was entirely dark, so clearly Robin must have left and closed it up some time ago.   
  
The fact that it was still open and that there was movement inside meant a night trespasser must have invaded to attempt to steal goods, and she was very much not down with that. Lucina gripped the hilt of her sword to threaten and potentially kill the assailant as soon as she walked in.   
  
Tent flaps opened just enough for her to step into it, completely silent, she waited. She couldn’t see what was happening firsthand, though there were noises - they were brewing from a corner in the room where she knew the bookcase to be.   
  
For a split moment the princess thought they could be fighting, maybe discussing, with how she heard harsh breathing and hushed voices, but there was just barely enough moonlight in the tent to dash these thoughts swiftly.   
  
Her father and Robin were moving, constantly, at a rhythm, against the bookshelf; Chrom’s face was buried in the hood of that thick coat as he grunted, clearly trying to suppress further noises. He looked to be carrying the tactician, holding his back firm against the wood, and a particularly sharp motion caused Robin to gasp and shake against him.   
  
Lucina didn’t need to see the sloppy kiss that followed to just  _ know _ . Her body was wracked with a heat wave, from her face to the tips of her ears and churning down to her stomach. She had to leave, not oblivious enough to overlook that she was intruding on an intimate moment, but she was also terrified of moving and catching their attention.   
  
She had no time to dwell on it either, because as her father bent his head in to do things to Robin’s neck once more, the tactician’s head lolled slightly to the side and one of his eyes fluttered open.   
  
And landed straight onto her own. Both their eyes widened.   
  
_ Damn, damn! _ This would have been a good moment for her to have her focus back so she could backflip out or something-   
  
“Chrom! Wait, h-hold on!” Robin demanded, breaking eye contact with her and seeming a tad more flustered than a moment ago.   
  
“Hm?” The Exalt didn’t comply immediately, still leisurely moving up into the other man before he slowed to a halt and held Robin more securely against the bookcase. He looked up at him, breath uneven and a crease of concern to his eyebrow. “Something... wrong?”   
  
It was only her sense of pride that kept Lucina from bolting off like a scared mouse when the white-haired gave a gentle nudge to Chrom’s head, casting his gaze to the side.   
  
The Exalt squinted his eyes before startling and nearly making Robin fall. That little slip made Lucina’s heart drop as it exposed more of their position, more of  _ them _ and she had no right to be seeing such an intimate sight not meant for her.   
  
“Lucina?!” Chrom gaped, looking almost fearful in a strong contrast to his role as king and commander.   
  
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I-I didn’t mean for this, I didn’t plan- I’m going to leave, I’m so sorry.” The girl blurted out, almost falling herself as her lower legs felt like blocks of concrete while she tried to back away. Their eyes maintained contact until she trudged out.   
  
Silence reigned in the room even then, as the men tried to settle down from the shock. The tactician did so faster, ever steeled for different outcomes.   
  
“Well,” Robin sighed. “I guess she knows now.”   
  
“Don’t worry. She’d never reveal any of this to the others.”    
  
The tactician had almost forgotten their compromise entirely, but was sharply reminded when Chrom’s tip grazed his prostate.   
  
He lifted his eyes to the azurett in mild desperation as the very gentle rocking and grazing continued, bringing heat back to his body.   
  
Chrom had a kind of sheepish look to him, in a sort of way that belied a “can we?”   
  
Robin’s tired look crumbled into a warm smile. “Hmmm. Maybe you should convince me first.”   
  
Turns out he didn’t need any more convincing than a hand deftly wrapping around him and tugging with renewed passion.   
  
...   
  
Lucina’s ears burned like flares while she backed away from the tent; well, it was - it was something to see her father being faithful to Robin even in a different dimension.   
  
To think... she and Morgan hadn’t reached this level yet... she flushed whole at the very thought. She mustn’t give thought to her past friends until she’s sure she can return, but it was unavoidable sometimes, undeniable how she missed them.   
  
And now it was pretty obvious why she didn’t exist in this world. Chrom was in love with Robin, and they were both men, and couldn’t father neither her nor Morgan like this. She was reminded that in this dimension, Owain was the Exalt who led his fellow generation onwards to here.   
  
Shaking away newfound feelings of being inappropriate and unnecessary, Lucina sat down in her nightwatch position. She’d return. They probably missed her there, were worried about her. She would get through this.   
  
  
...   
  
  
The threat of Grima was upon them now.   
  
With the end of the matters in Valm and with Plegia (even more specifically, Validar and Aversa) on the prowl, there was no more time to look for Lucina. They'd all recognized that, collectively. They'd have more time to look for her in a world of peace after all.   
  
Morgan was still disgusted with the knowledge that Validar was his grandfather. How could he so easily forsake his daughter for the sake of a destructive dragon god? As part of the chorus of children who lost their loving parents to that treachery, he bristled with anger.   
  
Ylisse was not currently explicitly in war with Plegia, especially after the thinly veiled cunningly-thought "help" they'd given in the the war in Valm (only weaponry and gold), but he still entertained ideas of assassinating the man from afar. Possibilities strung in his mind. If Tharja or Henry did it, it could be passed off as a coup attempt. If they found a Plegian mercenary that wasn't head over heels for Grima, they could pay them to do it...   
  
If the monster was resurrected, what would they do?   
  
"The rite of Awakening." He murmured quietly to himself.   
  
  
...   
  
  
To see the dragoness in her lucious glory was an honor on her bloodline. Naga had only appeared to them once before, to talk with the youths about returning them in time. And now she was here to aid them in killing her counterpart, who ended up resurrected after all. She was their chance, their thin line that could mean the difference between change or a path down the destroyed future Lucina had seen.   
  
"So Naga's here." Severa murmured by her side, then nudged their shoulders together. "I think you can ask her to go back to your world now, Lucina."   
  
"Now? I'm staying. If it's to... vanquish that... monster..." She declared, "That's what I came to do. I'm staying."   
  
"Just saying you should take your chances. You're Chrom's daughter, aren't you? I think you could do it."   
  
Lucina weighed the possibility. Maybe not a return yet, she didn't even know if this Naga would be able to do it, but a few words with her may be all she needs for now. She watches with seriety as the goddess talks, mostly directly to Robin and Chrom, explaining technicalities and how to defeat Grima. As she'd known before, someone of Exalted blood who could wield the Falchion after the rite of Awakening has been performed on it. Grima would then be put to death, though not eternal. But this time she mentioned Robin could kill him as well, due to being, in a way, Grima himself. For good this time. Though it would end up killing Robin as well in the process.   
  
It should be simple. They should just let the final blow be heralded by Falchion. With the aid of Flavia and Basilio in addition to all the Shepherds and their children - and her as well - they should be able to do it.   
  
Before the goddess can part, Lucina holds her up. “Naga, I need a moment of your time.”   
  
The dragoness didn’t falter, facing her. “You were not among the children who asked for my power to travel across time. I suppose you are an Outrealmer?”   
  
“No, but also yes. I’m not from this timeline, and also not from this world, specifically. I had asked of you - or maybe another version of you - to bring me back in time on my world, but I ended up warped here instead.”   
  
“I see. You have my symbol and Chrom’s royal hair... you must be his daughter from that other world.”   
  
“Yes, your divinity.” She assented. “I wanted to know if there’s a way for me to go back, or if I should try to go by myself and walk the interdimensional planes of the Outrealms.”    
  
“I think there may be a way. You must have jumped into the portal a small bit sooner than you should. I might be able to trace back your location... and then you can return.”   
  
Those were good news, more relieving than she expected. This Naga could have said the extent of her power was different from her counterpart’s.   
  
"If that's what you wish after you feel that you have fulfilled your mission here, remember that I can be found at the sanctuary in Mount Prism."   
  
Lucina nodded. "Yes, my Highness."   
  
It was settled. There was a way. There was a way.   
  
  
...   
  
  
Lucina was nervous. Robin had called for her so they could speak, alone. And despite the fact they knew all of each other's secrets - or perhaps because of it - she still feared what was to come. What could it be that he would only tell her, and not Chrom or any of the Shepherds.   
  
He was looking down, in deep thought, when she came to his tent. He soon snapped his head up and greeted her. "Good evening, Lucina. Thank you for coming."   
  
She recognized that a small part of her wanted him to be treating her like his daughter, and she stomped said thought immediately with a blush she hoped he hadn't noticed. "Good. Good evening."   
  
Robin seemed to be at a generalized loss of words. Very similar to the next day from when she caught him and Chrom- she shot that thought down as well.   
  


He put the palms of his hands together. “You’ll have to leave this world soon, right? So I thought- I thought that if I told anyone, it should be you.”   
  
Lucina had a sense of foreboding about this. She held his gaze, attentive, waiting as much as necessary for him to be ready to talk.   
  
"As you may know... if I kill Grima. That's gonna end him for good. I'd erase any thread of him from this world. He'd never be able to return again here." He spoke, methodically citing the outcome.   
  
"Yes. That's correct." She ceded. "But father, with the Exalted Falchion and Naga's blood, is also able to slay him."   
  
"Like the hero-king did many years ago. And now Grima is back. If Chrom does it now, the cycle will repeat way ahead." Robin didn't waver. "But if I kill him- if I kill us- it'll be for good."   
  
She shook her head. "You can't be saying this. You don't have to die, if we, if we make sure to convert the Grimleal from their faith, no one will think to resurrect that monster."   
  
"Those were Naga's words. And you know things aren't as simple as that. You can call me selfish, if you will, but I don’t think my life is worth the suffering of the likes you children had to go through.” He pressed on. "I've made my decision. I believe it's final."   
  
"But if you're talking to me right now," Lucina tried to counter, "That means you may be willing to change your mind! Or else you'd have kept it to yourself."   
  
"I'm telling you this because I don't want to just go on as treacherous. Just going behind everyone's backs. Tacticians have to do that sometimes, but I like to think we trust each other in this army."    
  
"But..." She sighed, gazing down. "Even with telling me... you'll still be going behind their backs with this."   
  
"I know."   
  
She jolted as she heard his voice break. When she looked back up at him, he was shivering with repressed emotion, eyes watery.   
  
He immediately looked away. He didn't want to be seen like this, when he'd tried so hard to keep up his resolve and seriousness at the start of the conversation.   
  
"Robin..." Lucina stood up; despite knowing he wasn't very touchy with anyone besides Chrom, she hoped that at least his trust in her and the fact she was Chrom's daughter would let this be easier. She ignored his flinch when she wound her arms around him, pushing his head into her shoulder. He was slightly shorter than her, so it wasn't difficult to manage the position.   
  
"Robin, you don't have to do this." She tried, a dam of emotion building up inside her as well. To think she'd cast him off as irrelevant that first night she saw him, and now they'd come so far...   
  
"No, Lucina, I have. I made this decision, and I'm going to follow through with it." He choked a little. "No going back. I'm doing this for everyone. And getting rid of this body... the perfect vessel for Grima... you've seen the Hierophant. Y-you know."   
  
The azurette didn't know what to say, what to argue. Robin had lost control once. She and Chrom saw him falter completely. She'd thought to kill him later on that day, and even though she rejected the thought... it'd be kind of hypocritical of her to save him from death now, wouldn't it?   
  
She simply held him as he tried and failed to regain composure. This was hard. This was definitely hard. "Do you think of what it will do to father?" She sniffled.   
  
"Please don't bring him up." Robin exhaled shakily. "I'm doing this for him, too. In your future, it was me who killed him, right? Sorry, in," a sob and he shook his head. "In the future of this world... It was me, wasn't it?" That one dream, the first he remembered, a nightmare.   
  
Lucina didn't have any counter to that. Chrom was said to have been killed in Grima's Table, likely by someone close to him. Robin lost control to Validar and Grima in this timeline, even if briefly. It was like bringing puzzle pieces together.   
  
It was quite a while before Robin stirred further in her arms, raising his head slowly to meet her eyes. His own were still watery and a bit puffy, but the crease of his eyebrows showed determination.   
  
"I'm not afraid." He said. "I'm not afraid." He repeated.   
  
There was that light, the tactician's resolve that belied leadership, that likely set foes staggering back on the battlefield.    
  
She cast a glance aside. "So this is how you choose to change fate."   
  
"Just promise me you won't tell Chrom. I don't want him suffering ahead of time. He needs full trust and focus in the final battle." He was talking with a sort of distance again. Probably as a defense mechanism against his own decision.   
  
"Go." Lucina whispered.   
  
"Huh?"   
  
"To Chrom. Spend the night with him."   
  
That made Robin falter. "Lucina, I believe goodbyes are less painful the least attachment you have. I think I... would rather have that."   
  
"And I don't think that's true. You want to be with him. Stay with him as much as you can, for now." She bravely input.   
  
The tactician smiled sadly, and a couple stray tears still fell from his eyes as he looked down. "You know... you're right." Eyes closing, "I should do that."   
  
This time, he was the one to embrace her. She noticed his arms were weak, and that pained her. "Thank you, Lucina."   
  
She let her chin rest on his shoulderblade, emotions swirling wild within her. The thought that she couldn't tell her father, of what this would do to him...   
  
Lucina  _ hated _ Grima.   
  
  
  
  
...   
  
  
It had become obvious pretty soon into the battle that the foes would not stop ressurging until Grima's vessel was dead. Chrom was swift to dash ahead, helped by the Shepherds mowing down the Risen in his way.   
  
Morgan followed suit soon after his mother. Slashing her way through, with her son flicking his wrist every which way and unleashing bouts of wind slashing across Grima's back.   
  
The Hierophant in the far end of the beast summoned thorns, quite suddenly, and though Chrom managed to avoid some, he was going too fast and slammed right into them, shouting in pain.   
  
"Father!" Morgan yelled, speeding up. Robin was quick to rush ahead, building up a fire shield just as the king fell from an onslaught of magic. She knelt at his side and checked his wounds in worry.   
  
Morgan was riled up, his veins were flaring. Panting, he wasted no time in running for them, but not check up on his father.   
  
He swiped up the fallen Falchion, and didn't lose a beat in his step as he ran.   
  
"Morgan!" His mother shouted, but he didn't heed it.   
  
That monstrosity who dared appear like his mother was surprised, and raised a hand - to try and gut him with a thorn, for sure - he foresaw the move and evaded before jumping and burying the sacred sword right through it, to be point he felt it slicing into the humongous beast they stood on when they fell down.   
  
He couldn't care less that the god in that body was gasping out threats of returning someday. Grima was dead. He and the Risen wouldn't be able to lay a single finger on any of them.   
  
A light embraced all of them, Naga's light, to teleport them out before they could all crash into the ocean.

  
  
...   
  
  
Risen had ceased spawning in. The Hierophant was finally down.   
  
Lucina tried to shake off the pain flaring up her leg from a mace hit, seeing both Chrom and Robin close to the nape of the giant monster's neck, cornering the demonic impostor.   
  
This is the moment, as Naga would have said, for her father to raise the Exalted Falchion and kill him. But she knew better. She was the only one who knew. Chrom wasn't even close enough.   
  
She could barely hear it.   
  
"I guess that it's time to end this. For the both of us." Robin stated calmly.   
  
"What?!" The distorted variant of him crowed. "You wouldn't do this! You're mad!"   
  
She watched the moment when it clicked in Chrom's mind what was to be done.   
  
She had to watch that.   
  
As Robin lifted up his arm, and what seemed like dark electricity flowed out.   
  
As Chrom started to run.   
  
As the entirety of Grima's being they were standing on began to falter and overturn in the air.   
  
  
  
...   
  
  
  
"Our boy! Our boy! Who can wield the Falchion after all!" Owain chanted happily, holding and hopping the boy sat on his shoulder.   
  
"Take it easy, man." Morgan chided at his cousin, still red-faced over all the attention and praise he was getting.   
  
Yeah, they were probably expecting Chrom to finish off Grima, as was promised, but things turned out differently. His father was still limping from the attacks, but looked no less pleased about his son. He wouldn't go as far as to say he'd saved the day, but well, maybe he did?    
  
"Good job, Morgan." Robin smiled, walking by Owain's side; Frederick was happily tasked with having Chrom upon his horse to aid him in walking. A lot of them were wounded, actually, but the fact they could cut the battle short kept the army from any losses.    
  
This was optimal, this was what they came to do. There would be no more draconic god destroying everything and hampering the lives of their yet-to-be-born selves. They wouldn't all have to grow orphans, they wouldn't even really have to learn how to fight if they didn't want to.   
  
There would just be celebration right ahead. They've earned it.   
  
It would be so good if Lucina was here to see him...   
  


  
...   
  
  
The skies were clear, shining. Normal white puffy clouds ran across it. She should be happy. This is what she came here for. Yet it's her eyes that are clouded.   
  
This Robin may not have been as sociable as her mother, but the effects of his loss were still strongly felt throughout every single member of the army.   
  
Guilt trudged through Lucina with thoughts that she should have done more to try and stop him when he told her. Maybe she should have told her father. Or everyone else. Even if he was trusting her to seal that information tight.   
  
Chrom was the most devastated.   
  
When Lissa and Owain sat by him, offering comfort, Lucina did the same. She was still part of the family, in some warped way - and they accepted her as though she was, too.   
  
He held her, shaking with completely silent sobs. She caressed his hair, feelings a maelstrom of ill confusion within her. If Chrom was treating her like his daughter now, even if in some way she wasn't, would it be fair for her to return to her dimension? And leave them here with yet another loss?   
  
Maybe it was fate that she was led here so she could support her father. Yet at the same time... she couldn't just leave her friends behind, her brother, her true parents. What if her mother had a similar plan to this Robin? Would there still be time to stop her? The thought of Chrom going through the grief of losing his beloved in more than one world pained her so much.   
  
The war was over, Grima was dead, yet now she still felt as heavy a burden upon her shoulders now as when she had to lead the young Shepherds in her past. Did the other children feel it as well?   
  
Naga said to meet her, once she'd made her decision. And now she was torn.   
  
Before, she had been fully sure of her return. But after bonding with the versions of her friends here, as amicable as the ones she'd known, after being finally able to spend time with her father, even one who happened to not be hers... it was overwhelming now.    
  
Lucina didn't belong and yet here she was, being treated as part of the family.   
  
These very thoughts simply exhausted her. She had to take a few days to rest. Lissa had asked her if she was going home, to her world, and she said, very honestly: she didn't know.   
  
Like Robin had entrusted her with his plan of dying, even if it served no true purpose, maybe she needed to entrust everything to somebody here. Her parents, the differences, the danger they could be in, her and Morgan... if someone just listened, maybe she'd be able to decide.   
  
  
...   
  
  
Perhaps it was selfish of him. To be still thinking of her.   
  
The tiny Lucina looked up at him curiously, baby hands grasping at the crib bars to pull herself up and closer to him. He smiled and let her grab his finger. It was fucked up, that he was supposed to be the younger brother and here he was towering over his very small past sister.   
  
It would be even more complex if he were to stay and aid in raising her, and then likely his own tiny version of himself. Everyone had agreed to stay in the past and wait for Lucina before trying to go back, and to stay away from the baby versions of themselves once they were born. In turn, Morgan was not so sure about that since staying in Ylisstol castle was his best hope for finding Lucina again - she couldn’t just ignore her old home.   
  
That was his current strategy, anyways, before his patience would burn out and he’d set out around the world trying to find her.   
  
  
...   
  
  
Mount Prism was a completely peaceful trek without any hint of Risen, nothing that could make her slow her steps aside from the beating sun.   
  
The lively waterfalls eased her mind, even as Naga found her first.   
  


She lifted her head up and turned around.

 

“Naga, I’ve made my decision.”

  
-end-


End file.
